Promptly and critically, we come to the observation that Mrs. Mallard’s views about death are too overwhelming for her because of the fact that she has a severe heart condition. In the Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, we can see a sense of sorrow yet joy, between Mrs. Mallard’s continuous reflections about life. Through a closer look at Kate Chopin’s use of diction and imagery we first believe that Mrs. Mallard’s husband’s (Brently Mallard) sudden appearance is the only cause of her heart failure which leads to her death. This continues to develop and leads us to understand that Mrs. Mallard leaves her room because Josephine (Mrs. Mallard’s sister) convinces her to walk downstairs. Once she walks down the stairs, she becomes overwhelmed with emotions because she witnesses her husband is in fact alive and standing at the door; these events lead to Mrs. Mallard’s heart failure and overall death.
Choplin’s second paragraph explains that, Josephine and Richards (Brently Mallard’s friend) break the bad news to Mrs. Mallard. Richards was at the newspaper office when the news came in. Josephine explains to Mrs.
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In fact he is “opening the front door with a latchkey” (Chopin 14) but no one inside the house knew who it was at first. Simultaneously Josephine and Mrs. Mallard are making their way down the steps. Once Richards realizes who is at the front door, he quickly tries to move in between Brently and Mrs. Mallard to try and keep Mrs. Mallard from laying eyes on her husband. Richards’ quick action is symbolized as the last line of defense before Mrs. Mallard identifies her husband as the person at the door. Richards is a split second too late. Mrs. Mallard cannot contain her emotions and as soon as she lays eyes on her husband she immediately dies from heart disease. This quick death symbolizes how severe Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition is and how surprised she was to see her